On Arte
Murderous car fetishist: The drama “Titans”
As an adult, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) develops a strange sexual attraction to cars. photo
© Carole Bethuel/ARTE F/dpa
Many people have sex in a car. But Alexia has sex with a car. Now something is growing inside her. The shocker “Titane” was awarded the Palme d’Or. This film breaks viewing habits.
A deserted hangar. Only Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) returned after the car show. She goes stark naked to a colorful Cadillac from the 1980s. And climbs him. In every sense that a dictionary knows. Only short cuts show the viewer what is happening inside the ecstatically rocking vintage car in which Alexia is writhing between belts.
The French film “Titane” breaks viewing habits. Director Julia Ducournau has the 2021 film festival in Cannes Won the Palme d’Or for best film. In doing so, she made festival history: She was only the second woman to win the main prize. Even the first woman who got him alone. Arte shows “Titane” on Wednesday at 10:15 p.m.
What is it about? Alexia has had a titanium plate in her head since a serious car accident in her childhood. She has developed an obsession with cars. As a dancer at car shows, she passionately rubs her body against car hoods and radiators in front of mostly male car fans.
When a fan harasses her in the parking lot in the evening and refuses to be shaken off, Alexia kills the stalker with her huge hairpin. At home with her parents she discovers that the police are already on the trail of her crime. Instead of turning herself in, she covers her tracks with more and more murders.
On the run, at the airport, on the screens in the terminal, she sees the mugshots of herself. But she also sees a poster: A boy, Adrien, is missing and has been missing for many years. He should be Alexia’s age now.
Alexia breaks her nose, shaves her hair, and assumes the identity of the lanky, mute boy. During a confrontation, Vincent (Vincent Lindon), Adrien’s father, recognizes her as his prodigal son. He is a fire captain whose life is destroyed. He takes Alexia in with him.
Alexia cuts off her breasts, hides her sex under a makeshift corset and conceals an early pregnancy. As a father, the only thing that comes into question is her last sexual contact: the huge car.
“The huge impact that lies in the bloody, beguiling and always ecstatic film moments captivates the audience. Intoxicating and absurd – the film inspires and never loses its credibility,” is how Arte advertises the film.
“My first input was that I wanted to talk about love,” said director Ducournau in a dpa interview in 2021. “That was a big challenge for me because I don’t want to put into words this feeling that transcends everything. That’s why there are so few words in my films. That’s why I also focus a lot on the bodies of my characters and my actors. The second thing is that for years I had this recurring nightmare that I was giving birth to parts of a car engine. This nightmare traumatized me, but at the same time I thought “Wow, what a crazy image, I really have to do something with this.” “